Govt directs doctors to return to consulting rooms by Thursday. or…

The Ministry of Health has directed all heads of medical facilities to resume the provision of health services, including emergency and outpatient services, to the general public by Wednesday, August 19.

The Ministry has further directed striking members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) to report and assume full duties by Thursday, August 20 in order to pave way for negotiations to resume.

Failure to do so, the Ministry says, will attract the necessary punitive measures.

The Ministry has also directed heads of the health facilities to monitor and provide it with weekly updates on which health workers are at post.

In the interim, the Ministry of Health has deployed physicians and medical assistants to the health facilities to be supervised by doctors who are ready and willing to work.

Addressing a press conference Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, reiterated government’s position on the illegality of the strike by the doctors which has entered its third week.

He described as unacceptable the impact of the strike action on the lives of Ghanaians.

Cuban doctors

Mr Segbefia also mentioned that as part of efforts to protect life, government had retained all the Cuban doctors who had completed their rotations were programmed to leave for Cuba.

He added that government was also in the process of bringing in 177 doctors to augment the numbers as part of the long-standing arrangement between Cuba and the government of Ghana.

Government’s priority

Mr Segbefia added that government’s number one priority was to ensure that healthcare was made available to Ghanaians.

For that reason, he said, government would take whatever steps necessary to ensure the welfare of Ghanaians.

He outlined that the Ministry of Health had not only presented assorted medical supplies to the Police and 37 Military Hospitals but had also posted additional nurses and midwives to assist in providing adequate and proper healthcare.

Mr Segbefia added that similar interventions were being rolled out in other health facilities.